October 27, 2024

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”


–J. Hudson Taylor

IN THIS EMAIL

Shout Out: Bob & Libby Goodsell

Try This: How’s your self-talk?

Party Tricks: The absolute miracle of Bible translation

Cheat Sheet: Changing the World

SHOUT OUT

Devoted followers of Christ at DCC

Shout out to Bob and Libby Goodsell!

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing churches on the planet and because of this, a growing number of church leaders are hungry to deepen their faith and sharpen their thinking.


Bob and Libby are Door Creekers who are passionate about helping ministry leaders thrive. Recently, they were invited to lead leadership training and marriage enrichment seminars for pastors in Rwanda and Uganda. One seminar had 500 pastors in attendance!


Thanks, Bob and Libby for equipping the next generation of pastors!

TRY THIS

Fresh ideas for spiritual growth

The closer you get to Jesus, the closer you get to His heart for the nations.

While not everyone is able to pack their bags and embark on a cross-cultural mission trip, many believers who could participate (even if it's praying and supporting missions) opt themselves out because of limiting self-talk.


Have you heard any of the following phrases pop into your mind when the subject of missions comes up?


1. "That's not relevant to me."

Whoops...not sure how to say this, but actually it is. When Jesus said "go into all the world..." He didn't add any qualifiers. Everyone is called to either be a "go-er" or a "sender."


2. "Resources are better spent here than sending people there."

Here's an interesting (though counterintuitive) reality...churches that invest in short-term missions tend to give more to local missions, not less. Cool right?


3. "I'm too busy."

Yeah, you probably are. That might be precisely why it's high time you hit pause, step off your personal hamster wheel and dedicate a week or two to God's work on the mission field. God often uses short-term opportunities to serve to shift the long-term alignment of priorities.


4. "I'm not spiritually qualified."

Maybe not. But guess what? Neither were the people who passed their faith to you. There's nothing quite like a mission trip to help you deepen your dependence on God. We often find that people who participate in short-term missions see tremendous growth in prayer, evangelism and relational health.


5." I don't know where to start."

Well, that's an easy one! Here are four simple next steps you can take today:

  1. Pray for one minute that God would deepen your urgency for missions. 
  2. Email Natalie, our Global Coordinator, and tell her you're interested in hearing about upcoming mission opportunities.
  3. Stop by a brand, spanking new mIssion wall at your favorite campus for an overview of our strategic vision for missions.
  4. Visit our missions page to e-meet our supported missionaries.

PARTY TRICKS 🃏

Stuff your pastor paid big bucks to learn in Bible school

One of the things we forget is that the Bible wasn't written in english.


Where does it come from?

What we call "The Bible" (a Latin word meaning "library") is in fact an ancient collection of God-inspired documents that circulated around tiny, mostly Jewish communities, on the other side of the planet.


Why does that matter?

Since the church was born, one of the greatest challenges of bringing the Good News of Jesus to those who have not heard, is the language barrier. Miraculously, the collection of scrolls that God used to shape the early Jesus movement 2,000 years ago has become the most-read, most-translated literary work on the planet today!


Does everyone around the world have the Bible in their language?

No. In fact, many have never heard the words of Jesus in their heart language because the Bible has not yet been translated for them. Consider these fascinating Bible translation facts:

  • Did you know there are almost as many translations of the Bible in English (900) as there are in every other language of the world combined (1,000)? It goes without saying that the modern, English-speaking world is very richly blessed.
  • There are 7,000 languages spoken around the world, and although we've made tremendous progress over the past few decades, only 1,000 of them have a full Bible in their native language.
  • One out of five people on the planet live in "Bible Poverty," where they only have a portion of Scripture in their language. 
  • All around the world, churches, translation teams, linguistic experts and technology consultants work tirelessly to translate Scripture.
  • Because of their herculean efforts, you can listen to Scripture in remote locations on solar-powered mp3 players, or on any phone in 2,000 spoken languages through apps like YouVersion, and you can even watch the Bible translated into 55 different sign languages!
  • The average cost of translating one verse of Scripture is $35. An ongoing translation project costs about $60,000 per year.
  • Experts predict that by 2033, every language group on earth will have at least some portion of Scripture available to them.


Let's pray that translation efforts continue and that God provides everything we need for people to hear the gospel in every language!

MESSAGE CHEAT SHEET

Get more out of the message

VISION: WE DESIRE TO BE

And Changing the World

Psalm 67

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Who are we becoming? That's the question that our vision statement seeks to answer. In this series, we are looking at the seven phrases of our vision statement to deepen our passion and sharpen our thinking about who we desire to be as a Church.


WATCH: YouTube or Website

Download Cheat Sheet pdf

The Big Idea

Why is mission and evangelism too integral to the people of God? Because God's heart is to be gracious to all people.

Group Guide

Following the series with your group? 

  • Start with some icebreaker questions.
  • Read the passage together before you dive in. 
  • Share any insights from the message. Use the questions below to get your conversation started.

Conversation Starters

1. Read Psalm 67. What jumps out at you? What does this Psalm suggest God wants for the world? 


2. Have someone read Numbers 6:22-27. When you think of the Lord making His face to shine upon you, what imagery or feelings come to mind? 


3. With Numbers 6:22-27 in mind, what is a circumstance around the world when someone would really need to discover the Lord’s face shining upon them?


4. What are some ways that God’s people living in God’s blessing would be a witness or a testimony to outsiders?


5. God’s heart is for the nations, for all peoples. How might God be growing you to be more like His? 


6. Have you checked out our new mission wall (at all campuses)? Which parts did you find interesting and helpful?


7. As you think about this message series through our vision statement, what strikes you as one piece that we should focus on a little more? And why? 

Prayer Prompts

Psalm 67 is a prayer! Read it out loud together, as a prayer to God for the world.


Looking for more prayer opportunities?

Click here to be notified about ongoing DCC prayer needs.

Click here to send in a prayer request.

COMING UP

Nov. 2 | Pop-Up: Discovering Your Design Workshop – REGISTER

Nov. 3 | A Message from Isaiah | Ryan

Nov. 10 | Scripture Memorization | Jamie

Nov. 17 | Luke 1:1-4 | Jamie

Nov. 19 | Pop-Up: Working Through Anxiety – RSVP

Nov. 24 | Luke 1:5-25 | Jamie, David (NSM)

ONE MORE THING

DOOR CREEK CHURCH | GROUPS | GROUP COVENANT

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